Sheath for retaining heat of body temperature and supporting muscle structure of wearer



Jan. 22, 1963 M. WrDUENSlNG 3,074,405

SHEATH FOR RETAINING HEAT OF BODY TEMPERATURE AND SUPPORTING MUSCLE STRUCTURE OF WEARER Filed July 28, 1961 INVENTOR. MAURICE w. DLJENSING i- CME/ ATTORNEY United States fine 3 07 4 405 SHEATH FOR HEAT F BODY TEM- PERATURE AND SUPPORTING MUSCLE STRUC- TUBE 0F WEARER Maurice W. Duensing, 1783 Hamlet St, San Mateo, Caiif. Filed July 28, 1961, Ser. No. 127,665 9 Claims. (Cl. 128293) The present invention relates to improvements in a sheath for retaining heat of body temperature and supporting muscle structure of a wearer. It consists of the combinations, constructions, and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter described and claimed.

It is proposed in this invention to provide a sheath that is made for enclosing a selected member of a wearer, for example, a limb, and being contoured to embrace the enclosed member, the sheath being formed from foam rubber so as to retain the heat of body temperature in the member thus enclosed. Moreover, the sheath is provided with muscle-supporting ribs or pads on the interior surface thereof which are disposed to bear against and support muscle structure of the wearer in its proper location to the bone or bones in the enclosed member.

It is a well known fact that heat loss or cooling out of muscles is the source of most muscle injuries of athletes. My sheath is so constructed as to prevent this heat loss, and still allows full function of the enclosed muscles and substantially free circulation of blood through the wearers member that is enclosed in the sheath.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device of the character described which is simple in construction, durable and efiicient for the purpose intended, and which may be readily applied by the wearer.

Other objects and advantages will appear as the specification continues. The novel features of the invention will be set forth in the claims hereunto appended.

Drawing For a better understanding of the invention, reference should be had to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view or" the lower leg of a wearer showing my sheath applied thereto;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of my sheath, looking from the lateral aspect of the sheath, part being disclosed in section with a pad being shown on the medial aspect;

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the plane III-III of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view of a modified form of my sheath; and

FIGURE 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the plane VV of FIGURE 4.

While I have shown only the preferred forms of my invention, it should be understood that various changes, or modifications, may be made within the scope of the annexed claims without departing from the spirit thereof.

Detailed Description Referring now to FIGURE 1 in detail, I have shown the lower right leg of a wearer which is designated generally at A, and having one of my sheaths B applied thereto so as to enclose at least part of the lower leg. Of course, the sheath may be designed to enclose any selected member of the wearer, for example, the upper leg C, the lower or upper arm (not shown), or the waist of the wearer.

F or the purpose of illustration, I have shown the lower leg as constituting the selected member that is enclosed by the tubular sheath B. In order that the use of the sheath may be easily understood, I shall briefly set forth the anatomical features of the lower leg A. The tibia 10,

or shin-bone, extends from the femur 11 to the astragal 12, and the tibialis anterior muscle 13 extends generally lengthwise of the tibia on the lateral aspect or outer side 14- of the lower leg. The tibia 10 is located on the plane 15 that extends from the anterior aspect 16 to the posterior aspect 17 (see FIGURE 3). The soleus muscle 18 is located on the medial aspect or inside 19 of the lower leg A.

As clearly illustrated in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, the tubular sheath B is contoured to enclose the member of the wearer, here shown as being the lower leg A, in embracing relation therewith. This tubular sheath is made from foam rubber (neoprene) to thus retain the heat of body temperature in the enclosed member and prevent loss of body heat therefrom.

The sheath B defines an inner surface provided with a muscle-supporting rib 20, which is disposed to extend generally lengthwise of the enclosed member A. The rib 2% is disposed to one side of the anterior-posterior mesial plane 15 in a position to press against and support a muscle structure of the wearer, here shown as the tibialis anterior muscle 13, in its proper location with respect to a bone of the enclosed member, here the tibia 10.

It is important that the sheath B and the rib 29 be made sufficiently resilient to allow full functioning of the supported muscle and substantially free circulation of blood through the enclosed member of the wearer. This rib is made of the same material as the sheath B, that is foam rubber, and is bonded integrally to the inside surface of the sheath. The rib 20 extends substantially throughout the length of the sheath B from its upper end 21 to its lower end 22 (see FIGURE 1).

As disclosed in FIGURES 2 and 3, a resilient substantially triangular-shaped pad 23 is disposed on the medial aspect 19 of the sheath of the inside surface of the latter so as to bear against and support the soleus muscle 18 of the enclosed leg.

The sheath B may be fashioned from a sheet of foam rubber and its longitudinal edges 24 brought into abutting relation with one another (see FIGURE 3), and then a strip of foam rubber 25 may be bonded over these abutting edges to extend from the upper end 21 of the sheath to the lower end 22. thereof. This type of tubular sheath must be pulled over the foot 26 of the wearer, when it is applied to the lower leg A.

Turning now to the modified form of the invention, as shown in FIGURES 4 and 5, the sheath B is made of the wraparound type; otherwise, it is the same as the sheath shown in FIGURES l, 2 and 3. Accordingly, like reference characters have been applied to corresponding parts of the two embodiments or forms of the invention.

As illustrated in FIGURE 4, the modified tubular sheath B is split lengthwise thereof from its upper end 21 to its lower end 22.. This sheath has adjacent edges 27 and 28 bordering the split, when the sheath is wrapped around the Wearers member to enclose the latter. A conventional zipper D has coacting parts attached to the edges 27 and 28 of the sheath B along the length of the latter. This zipper is operable by a slide 29 to removably secure the sheath around the wearers member.

In FIGURE 5, I show the resilient muscle-supporting rib 20 as being secured to and extending beneath one of the marginal sections that borders the split, here the edge 27. This rib has a free flap portion 30 that is insertable into a position under the other marginal section 28. The zipper is disposed outwardly of the resilient rib 20 so that the enclosed member of the wearer will be protected against contact by the zipper when the latter is actuated. The zipper D is made of the type that has a pin 31 on one of its parts that is adapted to be inserted into a socket 32 fixed to the other part of the zipper. With this arrangement, the sheath B may be wrapped around the member of the wearer, and then the pin 31 inserted into the socket. At this time, the slide 29 may be pulled upwardly so as to removably join the two coacting parts of the zipper D together.

It will be apparent that the modified tubular sheath B need not be pulled over the wearers foot or other extremity. Otherwise, the construction and operation of the two forms of the invention are the same and serve the identical purposes.

I claim:

1. In a sheath for retaining heat of body temperature and supporting muscle structure of a wearer: a resilient tubular sheath dimensioned to be applied over a member of a wearer and being contoured to enclose the member in embracing relation therewith; the sheath being made of foam rubber to thus retain the heat of body temperature in the enclosed member and prevent loss of body heat therefrom; the sheath defining an inner surface provided with a resilient muscle-supporting rib, which is disposed to extend generally lengthwise of the enclosed member; the rib being disposed to one side of an anteriorposterior mesial plane of the sheath in a position to press against and support a muscle structure of the Wearer in its proper location; the sheath and rib being sufiiciently resilient to allow full functioning of the supported muscle and substantially free circulation of blood through the enclosed member.

2. The sheath for retaining heat of body temperature and supporting muscle structure of a wearer, as set forth in claim 1; and in which the rib is bonded integrally to the sheath and is made of the same material.

3. The sheath for retaining heat of body temperature and supporting muscle structure of a wearer, as set forth in claim 1; and in which the rib extends substantially throughout the entire length of the sheath.

4. The sheath for retaining heat of body temperature and supporting muscle structure of a wearer, as set forth in claim 1; and in which the sheath defines upper and lower ends; the sheath being split lengthwise thereof from its upper end to its lower end, whereby the sheath may be wrapped around the wearers member; the sheath having adjacent edges bordering the split, when the sheath is wrapped around the member; and a zipper having coacting parts attached to the edges of the sheath along the length of the latter, and being operable to removably secure the sheath around the member.

5. The sheath for retaining heat of body temperature and supporting muscle structure of a wearer, as set forth in claim 4; and in which the sheath defines a pair of adjacent marginal sections that border the split; the resilient muscle-supporting rib being secured to and extending beneath one of these marginal sections, and having a free flap portion insertable into a position under the other marginal section; the zipper being disposed outwardly of the resilient rib so that the enclosed member will be protected by the rib against contact by the zipper when the latter is actuated.

6. In a sheath for retaining heat of body temperature and supporting muscle structure of a wearer: a resilient tubular sheath dimensioned to be applied over a lower leg of a wearer and being contoured to enclose the wearers lower leg in embracing relation therewith; the sheath being made of foam rubber to thus retain the heat of body temperature in the enclosed lower leg and prevent loss of heat therefrom; the sheath defining an inner surface provided with a resilient muscle-supporting rib, which is disposed to extend generally lengthwise of the enclosed lower leg; the rib being disposed to one side of an anterior-posterior mesial plane of the sheath in a position on the lateral aspect of the sheath so as to press against and support the tibialis anterior muscle of the wearer in its proper location with respect to the tibia; the sheath and rib being sufiiciently resilient to allow full functioning of the supported muscle and substantially free circulation of blood through the enclosed lower leg of the wearer.

7. In a sheath for retaining heat of body temperature and supporting muscle structure of a wearer: a resilient tubular sheath dimensioned to be applied over a lower leg of a wearer and being contoured to enclose the wearers lower leg in embracing relation therewith; the sheath eing made of foam rubber to thus retain the heat of body temperature in the enclosed lower le and prevent loss of heat therefrom; the sheath defining an inner surface provided with a resilient substantially triangularshaped pad, which is disposed on the medial aspect of the sheath so as to press against and support a soleus muscle of the wearers enclosed lower leg.

8. In a sheath for retaining heat of body temperature and supporting muscle structure of a wearer: a resilient sheath dimensioned to be applied over a member of a wearer and being contoured to enclose the member in embracing relation therewith; the sheath being made of foam rubber to thus retain the heat of body temperature in the enclosed member and prevent loss of body heat therefrom; the sheath defining an inner surface provided with a resilient muscle-supporting rib, which is disposed to extend generally lengthwise of the enclosed member; the sheath and rib being sufiiciently resilient to allow full functioning of a muscle supported by the rib and substantially free circulation of blood through the enclosed member; the sheath having a split extending along its length to facilitate placement of the sheath over the wearers member; the sheath having adjacent marginal sections that border the split; the rib being secured to and extending beneath one of these marginal sections, and having a free flap portion insertable into a position under the other marginal section; and fastening means having coacting parts attached to the marginal sections along the length of the split, and being operable to removably secure the sheath over the enclosed member; the fastening means being disposed outwardly of the rib so that the enclosed member will be protected by the rib against contact by the fastening means when the latter is actuated.

9. The sheath for retaining heat of body temperature and supporting muscle structure of a wearer, as set forth in claim 8; and in which the split extends to one end of the sheath.

No references cited. 

1. IN A SHEATH FOR RETAINING HEAT OF BODY TEMPERATURE AND SUPPORTING MUSCLE STRUCTURE OF A WEARER: A RESILIENT TUBULAR SHEATH DIMENSIONED TO BE APPLIED OVER A MEMBER OF A WEARER AND BEING CONTOURED TO ENCLOSE THE MEMBER IN EMBRACING RELATION THEREWITH; THE SHEATH BEING MADE OF FOAM RUBBER TO THUS RETAIN THE HEAT OF BODY TEMPERATURE IN THE ENCLOSED MEMBER AND PREVENT LOSS OF BODY HEAT THEREFROM; THE SHEATH DEFINING AN INNER SURFACE PROVIDED WITH A RESILIENT MUSCLE-SUPPORTING RIB, WHICH IS DISPOSED TO EXTEND GENERALLY LENGTHWISE OF THE ENCLOSED MEMBER; THE RIB BEING DISPOSED TO ONE SIDE OF AN ANTERIORPOSTERIOR MESIAL PLANE OF THE SHEATH IN A POSITION TO PRESS AGAINST AND SUPPORT A MUSCLE STRUCTURE OF THE WEARER IN ITS PROPER LOCATION; THE SHEATH AND RIB BEING SUFFICIENTLY RESILIENT TO ALLOW FULL FUNCTIONING OF THE SUPPORTED MUSCLE AND SUBSTANTIALLY FREE CIRCULATION OF BLOOD THROUGH THE ENCLOSED MEMBER. 